Project

I’m the kind of person that thinks in seasons. On Pinterest I literally have my food boards split into seasons (summer food, fall food, etc). Eating a watermelon basil salad in November just feels wrong, almost as weird as eating cozy chicken pot pie in May. Am I right?? This seasonal framework carries over into my decor, especially on my porch! You guys know what I mean…you have the winter wreath, the spring wreath, the summer wreath,etc. Now I’m kind of obsessed with having seasonal doormats as well. I’m in the process of helping my mom do a “porch makeover” (stay tuned for the big reveal next week) and we needed some fun, summery doormats! My fellow blogger and Target partner-in-crime, Ashley, found some good options, but my parent’s house is tricky and it has three front doors (yeah, three?!?) and we couldn’t find three of the same mat! But sitting next to the picked-over piles of cute mats, was a pile of plain, natural doormats and that’s when the idea struck! Let’s just paint our own! So we did some googling and figured out what we needed, thought about some designs, and went at it. We decided to do a fun watermelon theme on one set and a patriotic theme on the other set (perfect for the upcoming 4th of July holiday).

Some projects we get ourselves into seem super easy, but end up being more complicated and time consuming than we ever thought possible. This project was the opposite! It was super simple and worked out just as easy as had hoped it would. It would even be a fun project to do with kids. It also makes a great gift idea for a new home-owner or anyone that appreciates a little pizazz on their porch! Check out all the details below.

Using a stencil or freehand, take the curved end of the sponge and draw a triangle coming to a point in the middle of the sponge, making the shape of a watermelon slice. Then draw the curved line about ½ inch to ¾ inch from the curved edge to make the watermelon rind.

Cut out the watermelon shape using scissors. Our sponge was really thick, so we also cut the shape in half so it was easier to work with. You should have one piece cut for the watermelon slice and one piece for the rind.

Pour entire 2 oz bottle of pink paint onto paper plate (don’t pour the green paint yet–it will dry out) and dip watermelon slice into the paint. Make sure there is a thick coating of paint on the sponge.

Stamp the watermelon slice onto the mat and press firmly around the entire shape to ensure the paint transfers from the sponge to the mat. Repeat this process until the mat is covered with a random pattern of watermelon slices.

Allow pink slices to dry about 15 to 20 minutes before stamping the green rind.

Once the slices are dry, pour green paint onto a new paper plate and begin stamping the rinds on each watermelon slice. Allow to dry.

Next, taking the fine bristle paintbrush and black paint, begin painting small oval-shaped seeds on each slice of watermelon. Allow to dry.

Finally, spray the mat with two coats of craft clear coat/sealer (waiting 15 minutes between coats). If you use outdoor paint this isn’t necessary, but will help protect the mat even more.

Directions for Patriotic Design:

Shake or wipe off doormat with a towel to get any dirt or dust off.

Find center of the doormat by folding in half and marking subtly with Sharpie.

Starting in the center, take the painter’s tape and make a line from the center of the mat to the bottom left-hand corner. Repeat and make a similar line from the center to the right-hand corner.

Press the tape firmly into the mat (I rubbed the closed paint bottle over and over the tape until it was fully adhered). This is key to ensure that you have crisp lines and your paint won’t bleed through!

Continue applying the tape in the same fashion to complete the pattern shown.

Gather the paint, you will need a full 2 ounce bottle for each of the three colors, red, blue, silver.

Determine which sections will be which color, I did an alternating pattern of red, blue, silver, blue, red, silver.

Starting with the red, pour paint onto paper plate and paint ALL the red sections. Next, pour the blue paint onto a new paper plate and paint ALL the blue sections. Lastly, pour the silver paint onto a new paper plate and paint ALL the silver sections.

Allow the paint to dry for 15 to 20 min (faster if you put it in the sun) before removing the tape! It’s worth the wait…you’ll mess up your crisp lines if you don’t wait.

Finally, spray the mat with two coats of craft clear coat/sealer (waiting 15 minutes between coats). If you use outdoor paint this isn’t necessary, but will help protect the mat even more.

Tip: we tried it using both the sponge paint brush and a cut square of the large sponge used for the watermelon and FYI the piece of the big sponge worked way better and had better pain coverage than the sponge paintbrush.

Want to skip the hassle of boiling eggs this Easter? We have a super-easy DIY dip dyed marshmallow project for you! This DIY is a perfect activity for the little ones. All you need is JUMBO marshmallows, water and some food coloring. No need to wait around for eggs to boil or worry about cracked eggs. The kids (and even the adults) will have fun with all the different color combos and designs!

Raise your hand if you love Halloween and all it’s pumpkin-y fanfare…. Yes, me too. I love decorating and carving pumpkins, but pumpkin guts make me want to barf. Seriously, even the thought of scooping that stringy stuff makes me queasy. I don’t know why, but I hate it. So when my friend showed me this magic tool that cleans out those slimy pumpkin innards in a matter of seconds, I was amazed. Even if you don’t have a hard-core aversion to inner pumpkin mush, you’ll still love this. This little tool attaches to any drill (yeah, like the one your husband has in the garage) and guts the entire pumpkin in a matter of seconds. Score!! Watch the YouTube video below to see this baby in action and click here to buy this little piece of genius right now on Amazon.

The 4th of July is right around the corner and if you are looking for some decorating ideas to spruce up your mantel, I’ve got a few crafts and DIYs to share with you! DON’T HAVE A MANTEL? Don’t worry…you can recreate these decor ideas using a shelf or bookcase in your house. You can also decorate a console table you may have in your entryway or in your living room. The possibilities are endless!

I designed this 4th or July mantel with a big statement piece, a DIY string art of the USA. I have wanted to do a string art piece for a long time but, could never decide on what to do until I saw Wendy from The Paisley Pickle making one at a friends house. Just a warning…this string art project is not for the faint-hearted crafter. This project takes patience and time. But, once it’s finished you will be thrilled with the results! I am! And I love the finished project even though it tested my patience. Look below for all of the materials needed and instructions on how to make your own the string art.

The wood stars, firecrackers, and 4th & flag can be purchased from the Wood Connection. The wood pieces come unfinished and can be decorated and painted however you like. I painted and distressed mine and added a few embellishments to some of the pieces to give them some dimension. And the USA letters were from Target’s dollar spot section.

DIY How To—USA Map String Art

Materials Needed:

4 wood boards that are 24″ x 5″ and 2 boards/pieces to nail to the back to hold it together.

String – I used DMC Baroque Crochet Cotton for the white string and DMC Embroidery Floss for the red string

Box of nails (you will want a nail with a decent head so the string won’t pop off)

Stain – I used Rustoleum stain in Kona

Cheesecloth and vinyl gloves (for staining)

USA map template (Get it printed at Office Max or your local print shop and ask them for an engineer print.)

Step 1: Cut and nail together wood planks

Step 2: Stain your wood board.

Step 3: Print out the map template.

Step 4: Once your stain is dry, cut out the template and tape it to your board.

Step 5: Time to get the hammer out! Nail around the entire outline of the map – I spaced out the nails about an inch apart. (Warning: this step is the hardest and longest. Don’t get discouraged.)

Step 6: Once all of your nails are in, remove the paper template.

Step 7: Now for the fun part! Get your string and tie a knot around the head of one of the nails. Start by stringing the string down towards the heart and wrapping the string around one of the nails of the heart. (Tip: since the heart has less nails, you will need to string the outside strings around the nails multiple times.) Keep repeating until you are all done. Once you are done, tie another knot.

Step 8: Get your red DMC Embroidery Floss. Begin by tying a knot around one of the nails around the heart and string the string back and forth criss crossing the string.

Wood Connection Wood Projects

Materials Needed:

Red, white/cream, and blue paint

Foam brushes

Sand paper

Wood glue

Painters tape

Balsa wood sticks (for the stripes on the flag)

Metal star embellishment

Twin for embellishment

Thick wire for the firecrackers (can be purchased from Lowe’s or Home Depot)

Wire cutters

A pencil or wooden dowel to wrap the wire around to crate the twisted shape

Step 1: Sand any rough edges and wipe all wood pieces down with a cloth to get rid of any saw dust.

Step 2: Paint all wood pieces the desired colors and let dry. For the flag, I taped off the section for the blue and let dry and then covered the blue to paint the red.

Step 3: Once they have dried, sand the edges to distress (optional).

Step 4: Glue small stars onto the ‘4’, the balsa wood sticks to the flag, and the star to the flag.

Step 5: Cut wire to desired length and wrap it around a pencil/dowel to twist it into shape.

Step 6: Place a tiny amount of glue onto the end of the wire and insert into hole on top of each firecracker.

Every year I swoon over the cute fabric lined baskets while shopping for Easter goodies. So this year I decided to get crafty and make my own. Sewing is not my specialty, so I’m pretty excited about how it turned out. With Easter right around the corner, this simple and easy basket liner tutorial can help you personalize any basket that you already have on hand.

Step 1:Turn your basket upside down over an ironing board. You will then drape and center your fabric over the outside of your basket and pin the fabric tight around the corners and down the sides of the basket. This is a lot easier than trying to cut and sew multiple pieces together.

Step 2:Take the fabric off of the basket and with a ruler, extend the pin line to the edge of the fabric. Repeat this step for all four sides. Next, you will sew a seam along the pin lines, leaving a triangular flap. Cut off the flap on each side, leaving a 1/2 inch seam. If you find the fabric doesn’t fit snug in the basket, make your seam a little closer from the original.

Step 3:Next you need to determine how much fabric you want showing on the outside of your basket. I have three inches showing on my basket. Measure your fabric accordingly and add an additional length for a ribbon casing. The length of your casing will depend on the width of your ribbon. You will then trim off the excess fabric.

Step 4:With the fabric in the basket, make a cut from the edge of the fabric to the handle at the top edge of the basket. The width of the cut will depend on the width of the basket handles. Fold the fabric under and stitch around the edge to get a nice finish.

Step 5:Next you will need to make the casing for your ribbon. Thread the ribbon through the casing and pull tight to make sure the liner fits snug around the outside of the basket and tie a bow at each end.